Steamboat coach John Aragon passes some advice along to Brooke Metzler and Summer Smalley last spring during the girls tennis season. Aragon will continue to coach the girls this season but has elected to step down as the boys head coach in order to take a trip with his wife.

Steamboat Springs  When the Steamboat Springs High School boys tennis team returns to the court next week, longtime head coach John Aragon won't be there.

“This will be the first fall I’ve had off since I was a sophomore (playing) in high school,” Aragon said Monday when asked about his resignation as head coach.

Aragon will leave the team this fall so that he can travel with his wife to Australia.

“It’s something that we’ve always wanted to do,” Aragon said. “When this opportunity came around I didn’t see anyway that I could pass it up.”

Aragon’s wife earned the trip through her work with State Farm Insurance, and the dates fell during the most critical part of the boys season.

Aragon will continue to coach the girls team in the spring along with fellow coach Don Toy. Aragon hopes to return to lead the boys team again next fall.

Luke DeWolfe, athletics director at Steamboat Springs High School, confirmed Monday that Aragon will take this season off and is expected to return in fall 2013. Toy will step in to the top coaching position during Aragon’s absence.

“Those two guys have always coached together, so it works out pretty well,” DeWolfe said.

Aragon said it was a tough decision to be away from the program he has helped to build into a perennial powerhouse. The Sailors have had 39 state medalists under Aragon and placed third as a team in 1998 and 2007.

“I just didn’t feel that it would be fair to be away from the team during the critical part of the season,” Aragon said. “I think that they will be in good hands with Don in charge.”

Steamboat Springs High School has made several other coaching moves during the summer. DeWolfe said head cross-country coach Andy Reust has stepped down and will be replaced by Greg Long and Erik Ramstad. The school also hired Ben Tollar as the new head coach of the hockey team.

Fall practice began Monday with the return of the golf team. Most other sports will hold their first official practices of the season on Aug. 13.